Nieces and Nephews

A few pics of our lovelies, thanks to facebook and emails. Our little niece Sophie Grace is just at 3 months:

And Ryan & Maddy - now...

and then...

we miss them!!!

Royal Gorge

My parents visited Denver just as I arrived back from Uganda. It was wonderful to see them & spend some time touring a bit. We went to Canon City & experienced the Royal Gorge - what a beautiful site! Here are some pics...

My advent conspiracy

As some saw a few posts ago, I support this cause called Advent Conspiracy. Its a campaign to remove our values and priorities surrounding Christmas from the consumerism it has become and to restore the meaning of Christmas through giving back to others in time, service, and compassion. I long for this to be a value of mine all year long & not just at Christmastime. And this year I didn't have much choice when it came to giving gifts - my empty pockets made it very easy to choose the giving of 'presence' instead of 'presents'.

Did I say easy? In reality it wasn't. Even though in my heart I value quality time with my family and friends, though I know that a gift given just because its 'that time of year' isn't worth the giving, I found it difficult. When I knew each member of my family would be handing me a gift they bought or put money towards, I struggled with not reciprocating. What would they think? How would they feel? Am I being selfish? Those were the conflicts happening in my mind as I pondered this conspiracy in the midst of our culture and society.

Its not that I gave up giving all gifts this year, but that I decided to spend time & energy on something that would be for my whole family rather than buying individual gifts. See we've had these 8mm home videos that have been gathering dust for years - always there to be watched, yet ignored and overlooked due to the tiresome duty of having to search through hours to find what you're looking for. That's where the glory of the DVD comes in - yes, it was time to copy them & make them accessible to all! So, that's what I spent the last month working on - copying all our old home videos to DVD.

And last night it was all worth it. We sat down as a family, watching our lives pass by as we grew...laughing heartily at our hair styles, clothing, comments...pondering the people in our lives that have passed on...being thankful for where we are now in life. It was a really fantastic time, sharing memories together as a family again - my mom, dad, 2 brothers & I.



I love you all - mom, dad, Greg & Dave. Here's to lots of old memories and many more to come!

First few weeks in Ohio

I've been having a blast with my niece & nephew - from soccor & football games to baking pies and playing the Wii, lots of quality time that I'm loving! They don't seem to mind too much either! :)

Maddy & I baking in the kitchen

After a marathon of games

Autumn is here! (actually its almost over, but hey...)

my family's house - lived here since I was born!

the corn field in front of my house - the corn seemed to be mutant this year...


for Maddy's 9th birthday my mom & I took her & some friends for an afternoon of fun!

Family Time

I returned this week from about 10 days with my family back in the midwest. We spent a week at Round Lake in Michigan where we relaxed & enjoyed our time together. I hadn't seen my niece & nephew since last October, so time with them was much needed before I head out. Ryan turned 10 that week, which we celebrated with a Harry Potter birthday cake & plenty of fun toys spread throughout the week. Madison will be 8 in October...sigh.

I love my family. Mom & Dad are so supportive, always have been, of my crazy adventures. I can only imagine the stress I give them as I jaunt around the world. But they continue to stand behind me & pray hard! Thanks, mom & dad!

There were tears, laughs, and the "see you laters" or "talk with you on skype" were hard but encouraging.

I keep wavering & discussing with friends - how long really is a year? How much will change? I hope I'll change & that we'll all grow over a year, but will it fly by or feel like forever? Because I hear both from people as I tell them I'm leaving...I imagine it will be both at specific times. Any thoughts from those out there who've moved away from friends & family?